


Finish the Book

by Take_my_hand



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6663769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Take_my_hand/pseuds/Take_my_hand
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She is locked in a magical tower, away from all she has known.  He is coming to rescue her...only to find she is not in the mood to be rescued.   This is her story...not his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finish the Book

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to a friend of mine, she's been after me to write a story for her for a while. It's also dedicated to my sister, who took time out of her life to edit a paper I wrote for school. So here it is in all of it's rough glory for the both of you and for everyone else. The title comes from where the idea originally came from, as well as the way it seems that every time you are in the middle of the best part of a story be it fanfiction or other you will be interrupted.

The tower was a lonely thing, standing on a hill surrounded by a flat plane and then circled by a dense forest that had grown even worse in the ten years Princess Malana had lived trapped inside the tower by the Gods' will. Or, really the council of nobles' will that had seen her riding with her parents and all of the court over ten years earlier to be walled up as an appeasement to the Gods. Sitting in the window, looking out at the same view she had always looked out, Princess Malana couldn't help but wonder how her parents and her kingdom was doing. It was an absent minded wonder though, one that only surfaced when she was between pondering other things like the proper conjugation of that one Xinglin verb or if maybe the other philosopher was right even though she had originally thought that he was wrong. She had stopped caring about her parents and baby brother in any really emotional way two years into her life in the tower when she realized that they weren't going to come rescue her and admit that they were wrong, that it was the Council who locked her up because they didn't want a female on the throne-never mind that by the rules set down by her ancestor the first king it was whoever was first-born and was found capable of ruling-which meant her. So after crying until she was dehydrated she had forced herself to forget about the outside world, forget that she had had a family who loved her and she started investigating the library that the tower had more thoroughly. 

The reason she had been locked in this particular tower and not just a random tower in the Royal Palace was that it was magical, there was no need for someone to keep bringing her food or clothes as invisible servants took care of that for her so everyone was able to put her away like some unwanted object and forget about her without feeling guilty since obviously it was what the Gods willed. She had believed the Priests and the Council for the first few months and had tried to go about some semblance of a routine that might befit a princess for that period of time until one of the invisible servants told her the harsh truth. He hadn't been kind about it, just tugged at her sleeve-a dark purple one said to bring out her eyes- and said in a breathy whisper that retained some of it's masculine qualities. "They were lying to you, you know? The Council and the Priests, the Gods didn't demand you as an offering for some offence that no-one can remember." She had tugged her sleeve away and demanded. "What do you mean? How do you know?" The servant had then explained to her how all those who served her, served the Gods, and that they knew when the Gods sent someone to the Tower to live out their life and then join the Invisible Ones. "It happens every one hundred year," the servant had said, "We always know who is the Chosen One, and it is not you."  
"How do you know?" She had whispered horrified, because even at eight the implications were huge.  
"Because I was the last one, twenty-five years ago." the servant said, his tone firm. She had thrown things at him, around him in her anger, and it was another servant who calmed her down by showing her the library.  
"It will never run out of books, if you are looking for one it will find you." the second servant said, ignoring the way Malana was crying, looking back she would always be grateful for that ignorance. She was handed a book by the second servant and found to her surprise that it was the one she had been reading before she left, she had forgotten it in the rush to get ready to go and hadn't been allowed to go back and get it. That night found her curled under the covers of her bed, reading and rereading the book, and after that it never left her bedside, it was the start of a thirst and passion for learning that she had never experienced before and that first book saw her through the worst times. 

Malana blinked as movement in the distance caught her eye, it wasn't an animal, she knew what animal movements looked like after searching in vein for some movement that might reveal a rescue party, but she didn't dare hope that this time it was a rescue party.  
"Chen, can you see what that movement is?" she asked, turning to where the silver necklace hung, indicating the presence of Chen-they were the first to talk with her, they had been the one to break the news to her-it had been years later that they explained that they were neither male nor female and she had decided to use a non-gender pronoun.  
"It looks to be a man on horse back." Chen said after a few moments of silence, their voice even. "I can't see any details though, perhaps it is your brother?"  
Malana scoffed, there was no way the Council would let her brother come rescue her. She was sure that they had tried to erase any memory of her all together just so that the people wouldn't protest and ruin their schemes.  
"Doubtful," she said with a sigh looking down and putting her bookmark in the book she was reading. She looked up again to see a rider on a brilliant white horse gallop out of the trees and straight to the foot of the tower. He was dressed in armor that gleamed in the sun and he removed his helmet back to reveal a pale face that the romance novels called handsome. Grabbing her telescope, she aimed it at him and made a face, he was certainly handsome with pale hair and blue eyes, but there was something off about his face, something that she wasn't sure how to describe since books didn't give her much in the way of pictures when they described images of hate, arrogance and all the other emotions faces were supposed to have.  
"I am Prince Eamonn of Haelvan." He shouted up at her, his accent similar to those of the Invisible Ones who had been from Haelvan originally, although his accent was stronger. "Do I have the honor of speaking to Princess Malana of Krish?" 

Malana frowned, looking over to where Chen stood although she couldn't see him she felt as if they had locked eyes for a moment. "It is up to you Mal." Chen said softly, moving back just slightly so that she could have better access to the window.  
"I am Princess Malana of Krish, why have you come here?" she called down, trying to make her voice sound imperious like his did although she felt as if she fell far from the mark.  
"I have come to rescue you my lady." Prince Eamonn said, swinging off his horse to bow low. "Your parents have decreed that the one to find you and rescue you from the castle would have your hand in marriage."  
Malana froze, the blood in her body turning to ice as the air rang with his words. There was a whisper from behind her, the only sign that more Invisible Ones were behind her and to her side, she was not one of them in the way that they were but she was still one of them and they had come to support her. Her mind whirled furiously and although all she wanted to do was scream at her parents for forcing her into something she had no idea about once again, she knew that it wasn't what needed to be done now.  
"Oh," she said, biting her lower lip and then continued. "I'm afraid you caught me at the wrong time. I was just reading this fantastic book by R H Youngmeyer and I'm almost done with it, but it's so exciting I don't want to put it down." She took a deep breath and asked, trying to make her voice sound as hesitant as possible. "Would you mind coming back in a few days time so I can finish it?" Through the lens Prince Eamonn looked puzzled as if not sure why any princess would want to read, but he didn't seem to recognize the name so he nodded. "I will return in two days time." He said, "I have lodgings in the town that is in the forest, would you mind if I go there until you are ready? That way I can make sure no one else has come to claim you." She nodded, but realizing that he probably couldn't see her called down, "Of course, I will be ready in two days." He swung back on to his horse and rode away with a few backwards looks. Once he was out of sight, she sank to the ground, her arms wrapping themselves around her as she tried to focus her breathing. "I have to go," she said looking at where the Invisible Ones stood, bits of cloth, jewels, fur or feathers marking where each one stood. "I refuse to be a pawn for the parents whose only say in my life was that I should remain here." She winced at her words, and quickly added. "Not that I'm not happy here, I love it here and you guys are great it's just...."  
"We know," Safaa, the oldest of the Invisible Ones said. "But you are right. You must not stay here, this is holy ground something that has been forgotten and will be forgotten until the next Chosen One. You have been adopted by us so you have the right to remain, but they have not and they will keep coming until you leave."  
"We will get you ready for the journey." Another Invisible One piped up, "You must rest and figure out if your rock climbing gear is in working order." 

The rest of the day was a hive of activity as the Invisible Ones helped Malana get ready to leave the tower for the first time in over ten years. She learned how to pull her distinctive black hair under a scarf, and updated herself on the countries that surrounded her and which ones might be good places to live, she point blank refused to go back home and she finally cut off the remaining ties to her family that she had refused to let go of. Finally, the next morning she rose and ate one last breakfast in the tower, looking around to memorize everything she saw.  
"One last thing." Safaa said, when she had finished and had accepted the bag that had been prepared for her. She turned to where Safaa stood, a single red dot marking Safaa's forehead and where she stood. There was a rustle of clothing as the Invisible Ones shifted, their tags moving to form a semi-circle around her and the window with Chen closest to her. "Kneel Malana of Krish." Safaa ordered, and Malana did as she was bid wondering what was going on. "You came to this Tower named Malana of Krish, first child of the Krish royal family. Now you are leaving, having cut all ties to the royal family of Krish for what they have done to you, so when you leave you will no longer be Malana of Krish but Ayla Shade of The Gods' Tower. When you exit that window you will be a fully adopted member of the Invisible Ones." A pair of ghostly lips pressed against her forehead and there was a flash of light. When it cleared the Invisible Ones quietly chanted her name as she straightened and headed for the window. A few more pairs of lips brushed her forehead, there were prayers in many languages as Ayla Shade bade goodbye to the people who had become her family. Finally she arrived at Chen, whom she had saved for last because she knew parting with them would be the worst as he had been everything to her. "I'm coming with you," Chen said before she could open her mouth, their voice was determined and she knew that if she could see them, their posture would be just as stubborn as their voice. "I'm not letting you go out in the world without me? What kind of brother do you think I am?" She nearly hugged him, but instead she looked towards Safaa.  
"It is ok," the old woman said, as if she could read her mind. "The Gods have willed it, but you two must hurry so you can put as much space between you and that prince as possible." Ayla nodded, slipped easily into her gear and headed out the window, when she was at the bottom she paused, breath catching as she stared at the grass below her feet, it wasn't the first time she'd escaped the tower, but before she had preferred the tower so she had always gone back. This time however, she wasn't going to be back quickly, this time she wasn't just going into the forest but she was going to travel far and wide. 'The start to a new adventure.' she thought to herself and placed her foot firmly on the earth. 

 

_When Prince Eamonn returned for his bride she didn't appear when he called. He called and called but all that happened was a rope was dropped and when he grabbed it he was hauled up the tower's side and yanked in through the window. When he looked around the room was almost bare except for a piece of paper that simply read. "Malana of Krish is dead, spread the word how she died of a broken heart betrayed by those who bore her." There was a gust of wind that sent him tumbling towards the ground outside except that the wind caught him and gently set him down, the paper clasped tightly in his hand. That was the end of Princess Malana, however there was a woman who traveled all the known countries in a moving library, stopping at villages to teach the kids-especially the girls-reading and loaned out books. She was known simply as Ayla and along with her invisible companion she became legendary picking up kids everywhere she went. Kings and Queens asked to meet her and she always appeared in simple clothes, with her hair covered in bright scarves. She also attended several coronations, including the coronation of King Keahi of Krish. No one knows what happened between the two of them but when they emerged from a room where they had been talking it was evident that both had been crying. Memorably, she refused to be in the same room a the kings parents and it sparked gossip for the longest time. She never married and legend has it when she grew old, she took her library which had turned into a caravan and headed it to a place where a tower stood and entered it. No one ever saw her again, although when King Keahi of Krish heard of her disappearance he simply smiled and said. "She's at home."_


End file.
